You Never Know
by SlverShdws
Summary: It's strange how one act can completely change the way you think about a person.
1. You Never Know

_**It's strange how one act can completely change the way you think about a person.**_

"Woohoo! I am home free! Free as a bird, I tell ya!"

The words were proclaimed by a dark haired young woman as she stretched her arms out toward the sky. Both hands had the first two fingers spread out in the victory sign and the pose had several of the other students wandering the lawn pausing to stare strangely at her.

"They're only midterms, Tomo. You still have half the semester to go."

Tomo glanced over at her long haired companion just in time to see the tall brunette adjust her square framed glasses further up on her face.

"Well, yeah," she replied, still grinning, "but at least I won't have to take these tests ever again."

"They say human beings only use ten percent of their brains. In your case, I think that number is a bit high."

"Jealousy does not become you, Yomi. But speaking of knuckleheads," Tomo continued, ignoring the way her friend rolled her brown eyes, "are you coming out later with us?"

"I assume by knuckleheads you mean Kagura and Osaka?"

"Yep!"

"What are you planning on doing?"

"Oh, you know. A little dancing, a little eating, a lot of drinking—"

"Is it going to involve a four hour stint at the police station like last time?"

"If we're lucky!"

"Count me out then."

"Geez Yomi, you're such a killjoy."

"Because I don't want to have a criminal record before I'm twenty five?"

"Oh, so you wouldn't mind having one _after_ you're twenty-five?"

Yomi sighed. "Why do I talk to you?"

"I don't know. Why do you?"

"I have no idea, but I'm sure it has something to do with the amount of brain damage you've given me over the years."

"What are you talking about? I'm sure the fat cells have insulated—hey look out!"

Yomi, in the process of turning to give Tomo a piece of her mind—as well as a piece of her fist—felt herself stumbling forward from the strength of her friend's shove. As she threw her hands out in front of her to keep from doing a magnificent face plant on the pavement, she heard the ear piercing shriek of a car's breaks being applied, following by two heavy thuds, one right after the other.

_Oh no _she thought, feeling an icy hand squeeze her heart. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain from the scraps and cuts on her hands and knees and whipped around, praying.

She was just in time to see the white car speed off.

Tomo was sprawled on the ground, her right leg bent at an impossible angle.

"Nonononono," Yomi chanted as she hurried towards her, her own legs feeling wobbly and unresponsive. She collapsed on the ground beside her friend and reached out, her hands hovering as she tried to think of what to do. _I shouldn't move her in case . . . just in case. . ._

Swallowing, she twisted her hands together and called out, "Tomo? Tomo, can you hear me?"

Tomo gave no response.

"Tomo? Say something Tomo? What do I do? What am I supposed to do?" she said out loud, panic creeping over her. She reached a shaking hand out again and laid two fingers on Tomo's neck, trying to think back to gym class, trying to remember where to find the pulse while simultaneously trying to recall everything she had ever learned about first aid.

There was blood, but not as much as she would have expected. A gash on her forehead. A long scrape along the length of her arm. Neither looked particularly life-threatening, though she wasn't absolutely sure what life-threatening looked like. At least there wasn't any blood spurting out of anywhere. That she could see anyway.

"Come on, come on," she breathed as she lightly ran her finger along the length of Tomo's neck. _It shouldn't be this hard to find._ Unless there was no pulse. The thought sat heavy in her stomach.

And then she suddenly felt the soft beat against the skin of her fingertips. _Thank God._

At the same time, Tomo gave a groan and her eyelids fluttered open.

"Ow," she whispered, almost too softly for Yomi to hear. Her eyes drifted shut again.

* * *

Yomi hated hospitals. Ever since the first time she could remember going to one; as a small six year-old who had caught the flu at Christmas. She could still clearly recall how cool her blanket had felt pressed to her flushed skin and how the smell of antiseptic had made her nauseous. The doctors had assumed it had been the flu but it had been the smell from their hands that had made her throw up in the waiting room.

She had been admitted two other times, both with bouts of the flu and both times she had cringed away from the doctors and that awful smell.

She sat in an uncomfortable green plastic chair in the waiting room and tried to ignore her surroundings. Tried to forget that she was there. That her best friend was there somewhere too, possibly fighting for her life.

"Yomi?"

Startled by the low voice, Yomi lifted her eyes to the tall, dark haired young woman who stood quietly in front of her; a green messenger bag slung over one shoulder. She tried to rise to her feet but found that her legs were still wobbly and wouldn't support her so she settled for a weak smile.

"Hey Sakaki. Thanks for coming," she said as the taller woman sat down in the chair beside her.

"Of course. Are you alright?" Sakaki asked, still speaking in her calm, soft voice. Yomi took a deep breath, trying to breathe in some of the serenity that always seemed to surround her friend.

"Yes, I'm fine." She noticed Sakaki's gaze had fallen to her lap, where her hands were resting, covered in bandages. "Just a little scraped," she added.

Sakaki nodded. "It's good that you're alright. And Tomo?"

"Well she—"

"Yomi! Sakaki!"

The strong voice cut through all the other noise in the hospital. It's owner, a young woman of medium stature with brown hair that fell into her face, came barreling down the hallway, looking as if anyone failed to get out of her way, she would simply march _through_ them.

Behind her trailed a slightly shorter woman with shoulder length dark hair and eyes that seemed incapable of focusing on one thing.

"What's going on? Is she okay? What happened? When can we see her? Who do we need to beat to get some answers around here!" the brown haired girl announced, hands clenched into fists, her body practically vibrating with energy.

"This is a nice hospital. They have lines on the floor that tell ya where ta go. Wonder where they all go? Or start?" Her companion scratched at her head lightly before her expression cleared and she smiled sunnily. "Where's Tomo? You alright Yomi?"

Yomi pressed two fingers to her forehead and prayed for patience. "Yes, I'm fine, Osaka. Thank you. Kagura, they're looking at Tomo right now. She definitely broke her leg but they want to check and see if there was any internal bleeding."

The faces of her three friends paled instantly.

"Eck," Kagura voiced. She glanced around the waiting room while absently rubbing at her midsection, as if probing for internal damage. "Hey, did you call . . . uh . . . what's her name?" Kagura snapped her fingers rapidly and pointed at Sakaki. "What's the name of Tomo's girlfriend?"

Sakaki raised one eyebrow. "Asami?"

Kagura snapped her fingers again, this time in triumph. "That's it." She shifted her index finger to an annoyed Yomi, who pushed it away with one hand. "Did you call her?"

Before she could answer, Osaka cut in. "No, no. They ain't datin' anymore. They broke up two months ago."

Confusion clouded Kagura's face for a moment, and then cleared. "Oh, that's right. I forgot."

Yomi stared blankly at the three girls in front of her. "Wait a minute . . ." she said quietly, as realization began to dawn.

"Good riddance! Yanno, I never really liked her anyway," Kagura proclaimed.

Osaka scratched at her head. "But weren't ya the one that set Tomo up with her in the first place?"

"Did I? I don't remember that. Man I have lousy taste."

"Tomo met her in one of her classes last semester. You introduced her to the girl on your swim team," Sakaki supplied, gently brushing her friend's arm.

"Yeah! That's right! I knew I wouldn't stoop that low, Osaka."

"Sorry. It's hard ta keep 'em all straight."

Yomi's fingers tightened into fists. "I said wait a minute dammit!" she nearly shouted, leaping to her feet.

All three of her friends turned to her, identical looks of surprise on their faces.

"What are you saying? Are you . . . are you trying to say that Tomo is gay?"

The looks of surprise shifted into confusion.

"Well . . . yeah. I mean, you didn't know? She didn't tell you?" Kagura asked after a few moments of silence.

Shocked, Yomi slid back down into her chair. "No she didn't tell me." She glanced up. "But she told you? When?"

Kagura shrugged and pushed her hair back from her forehead. "Just after high school. Said she knew I would understand since we were in the same boat together. Little twerp," she finished with a scowl.

Osaka tilted her head slightly. "Well, aren't ya?"

"Well, yeah, but her just assuming it really pissed me off."

Yomi shifted her eyes to the shorter girl. "When did she tell you?"

"Oh, must've been the first week of freshman year."

Feeling as if something sharp were jabbing into her side, Yomi looked to Sakaki. "And you?"

"Freshman year. I came to see one of Kagura's swim meets. Tomo was there with a girlfriend."

Yomi sat back in her chair and pressed her hands to her forehead. "I can't believe this. I cannot believe it."

"Me neither. I mean, you guys are best friends. Although, I guess I can understand it, considering Tomo is completely—"

Kagura's explanation was abruptly cut off by Sakaki's elbow jamming into her stomach.

Yomi dropped her hands. "Tomo is completely what?"

Rubbing her stomach, Kagura frowned at Sakaki, whose face was unreadable. "A complete idiot," she croaked.

Osaka chuckled lightly. "Oh, I thought ya were gonna tell Yomi that Tomo—"

"Excuse me? You're waiting for the results for Ms. Tomo Takino, correct?" The doctor paused at the sight of both Kagura and Sakaki with arms outstretched towards Osaka, something akin to murder on their faces.

Yomi ignored them all, her focus suddenly pinpointed on the doctor. "Yes, that's right. How is she? Can we see her?"

The doctor smiled. "She's going to be fine. She has a broken leg that's going to give her quite a bit a pain for a while as well as difficulty moving but her other injuries are mostly superficial. She'll have to do some physical therapy but I expect her to make a full recovery."

Kagura let out a loud "whoop" while Osaka beamed and clapped her hands together. Yomi felt as if all her energy had suddenly drained out of her and could only smile weakly when she felt Sakaki's hand on her shoulder.

"You can see her if you like. She's just down the hall. I have to warn you, she'll be a little loopy because of the pain medication."

"Oh, that's just her personality," Kagura informed him.

All four girls started at the sound of a cell phone ringing. Each reached for her own, checking the tiny screen for a number.

"It's mine," Osaka stated, flipping open her phone. "Hello? Oh, hi Chiyo-chan!" Still beaming, she turned towards the others. "It's Chiyo-chan." She spoke back into the phone. "How are ya? Tomo? Oh, its okay, she ain't dead. Yeah . . it's a real shame . . ."

"Yomi?"

The young woman looked up at Sakaki, who still had one comforting hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should go see her first. See if she's up to having vistors. Especially rowdy ones."

Together they both turned. Kagura had moved to join in Osaka's phone conversation and both were talking animatedly into the device at the same time.

Yomi laughed quietly. "Alright," she agreed, getting to her feet and following behind the doctor. It was a short trip; before she could really think of what she was going to say she found herself just inside the door to the hospital room where Tomo was laying underneath a blue oft-washed blanket, her eyes closed. Yomi took in the sight of her friend motionless and covered in gauze; a stark contrast to the typical reality of Tomo Takino. Or, who Yomi had_thought_ Tomo was. Now she wasn't a hundred percent sure that she knew just who that person was. She never would have imagined her friend actually jumping in front of a car to save someone else. Nor had she any idea that her friend was living an alternate lifestyle. _Why didn't she tell me? Did she think I would be angry? Did she think I'd be disgusted or hateful? She knows me better than that. Doesn't she?_

She opened her mouth, and then closed it again, unable to think of anything to say.

Tomo made a quiet noise and shifted underneath the blanket, her eyes blinking open groggily. She stared blankly at door before her vision seemed to focus.

Yomi shuffled awkwardly, her brain telling her to step in but her body remained stuck to the door. "Hey," she began softly. "How are you—"

"HEY YOMI! IS SHE AWAKE OR WHAT? WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Kagura's voice nearly shattered all the glass in the hospital as it roared down the hall and into the room.

"WHO COULD SLEEP WITH A KNUCKLEHEAD LIKE YOU SHOUTING HER BRAINS OUT?!" was Tomo's equally loud response.

"WHO YOU CALLING A KNUCKLEHEAD . . ." A moment later Kagura slid in through the doorway, her face split in a huge smile. "Knucklehead," she finished. Her eyes lighted on the enormous cast covering Tomo's leg and she all but dived for the bedside.

"Awesome cast! Can I sign it?"

Tomo grinned and snatched a black marker from off the table next to her. "Only if you write something dirty!"

"Can I sign it too?" Osaka asked, trailing behind Kagura.

"Of course! Gather 'round everyone! Sign the cast for a mere 1000 yen!"

"1000 yen! That's ridiculous!"

"You can't even spell ridiculous!"

"Can too! And I'll prove it. See. R . . i . . d . . .uh . ."

"So Tomo, I guess the Rollin' Defense really ain't effective, is it?"

"What? The Rolling . . . oh man! I didn't even think to use it! I let a perfectly good opportunity go to waste!"

"That's a real shame. Chances like that only come along every once 'n awhile."

"We'll just have to recreate the moment!"

Yomi sighed, shook her head, and shared a smile with Sakaki as the taller woman appeared beside her.

"Those three. What are we going to do with them?"


	2. Favorites

The doors to hospital slid open with a _shush_.

And then closed.

Then slid open again.

And then closed.

And then opened . . .

"How long do you think she'll do that for?" Kagura asked Sakaki as they both stood watching Osaka stand a few feet in front of the door. Each time their friend took a step forward she would give a start as the doors slid open. And each time the doors closed she would giggle to herself.

Sakaki tilted her head slightly to the left; Kagura recognized the look. It meant the taller girl was giving serious thought to the question. There were two things that Kagura firmly admired about Sakaki: (1) she was an amazing athlete and (2) she always took the time to think about whatever you asked her, no matter how silly the question was. Actually, there were really three things she admired about her friend but she did her best not to think about the last one.

"Hard to say," Sakaki answered finally.

Beaming, Osaka waved at the two of them from behind the glass, appearing no closer to exiting the building than she had been five minutes before.

The two girls waved back.

Scowling, Kagura flailed her arms out for emphasis, "That's like the ninth time she's waved at us!"

"Fifth, actually."

"Exactly my point! Come on, let's get out of here. I have swim practice in a couple hours and I want to eat before then." A deep rumbling came from somewhere near Kagura's midsection.

"Okay, so I want to eat now. Are you coming?"

Sakaki raised both her eyebrows as Kagura took a few stormy steps away from the hospital. "You want to leave her here?" she asked. Spoken by anyone else, the question would have seemed accusatory. But in Sakaki's quiet voice, it was just a question.

Rolling her eyes, Kagura jerked a thumb back toward where the doors were still sliding open and closed. "She's in heaven. I wouldn't want to spoil her fun. Besides, if she stays here long enough, maybe they'll finally figure out what's going on in that brain of hers."

Glancing back over her shoulder, Sakaki took in the sight of one of her good friends basking in the simple pleasure of jumping forward and then jumping back. She couldn't help but smile; whatever _was_ going on in Osaka's mind, it had to be one hell of a fun game.

As if to reaffirm that thought, Osaka looked up with her wide-as-the-sky smile.

And waved.

They waved back.

Then, nearly in the same motion, they both turned and began to walk away.

And Osaka continued her little game in her own little world. As soon as they disappeared around the bend, she stopped and let the door slide closed in front of her without so much as giggle escaping her.

"Finally," she said quietly, "that took forever."

"Osaka?"

"AAAAHHH!" Osaka jumped at the unexpected voice and nearly bashed her forehead into the glass. With one hand clasped over her heart, she turned to stare bug-eyed at Yomi, who stared back with a mixture of confusion and skepticism splayed across her face.

"Oh, it's you Yomi. Ya nearly scared me ta death. Good thing we're in a hospital."

"Right. Where are the others?"

"They left already. You just missed 'em. Is there something Ah can help ya with?"

Yomi looked terrified at the idea. "No, no. I was just looking for Tomo's doctor and I saw you here. So they left without you?"

Osaka nodded and motioned to the door. "Yeah. Ah was havin' too much fun. You wanna try it?"

The look that slowly shifted over Yomi's face nearly made Osaka burst out laughing. It clearly stated that no, Yomi definitely did _not_ want to try _it_, or anything remotely affiliated with _it_.

"No, that's alright. They're going to let me take Tomo home in a bit. Do you need a ride somewhere?"

Osaka shook her head. "Nope. Good luck an' all."

Yomi blinked. "With what?"

Shrugging, Osaka stepped forward so that the door slid open one more time. "Ya never know what you'll need good luck for. Might as well have it."

* * *

"Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry."

Humming the words just under her breath and to the tune of a jingle from an annoying commercial involving a hamster, a chicken, and a car, Kagura bounced up and down as she walked, her eyes scanning the street in front of her like a lion observes the open prairie. Her hands, stuffed inside the pockets of her short coat, jingled the coins that she was searching so hard to find something to spend on. Even her footsteps were noisy; the soles of her shoes slapped against the sidewalk in a kind of back beat rhythm.

As usual, Sakaki was silent as she walked along beside her, her long strides easily matching Kagura's energetic shuffle. She too, had her hands in the pockets of her jacket but there were no coins inside of them to jiggle. Those were tucked away neatly in the little compartment of the wallet that was resting inside the small bag slung across her body. The fingers of her right hand, however, did have something to play with: a tiny stuffed animal that appeared to be something of a cross between a cat and a monkey. She carried it with her wherever she went and it served as both a good luck charm as well as a companion when she was traveling alone. Which she sometimes preferred to do. Not that she didn't like going places with her friends. It was just that . . . sometimes . . . she liked the quiet of wandering off—

"BINGO! Now we're talking."

Sakaki surfaced from her thoughts to find a triumphant Kagura pointing at a street vendor selling taiyaki pastries. Thrusting her fist into the air, then dragging it down in front of her face, the exuberant athlete continued, "And three for a hundred yen? That's MY kind of bargain! C'mon, Sakaki."

Smiling slightly, Sakaki followed behind her friend and wondered if she should mention that eating taiyaki from a street vendor, especially one selling three for one hundred yen, might not actually be a bargain in the grand scheme of things, particularly if one considered the likelihood of contracting food poisoning from said taiyaki.

"Care to make a donation? We have some lovely flowers to gift our givers."

Just a few feet before the street vendor was a small woman with a cart full of beautifully blooming flowers. The array of bright colors and strong, sweet scents managed to capture both Sakaki's and Kagura's attentions.

"Hey, I remember those. They're . . . uh . . . um . . .," Kagura frowned as she stared at the pink and white flower spread out in the shape of a drooping star.

"Lilies," Sakaki supplied, thinking how pretty the blooms looked. Kagura snapped her fingers and nodded.

"Yeah, that's it! Lilies."

And then Kagura did something that surprised Sakaki. Even as the taller girl was beginning to think about reaching into her purse for her change, Kagura had already dug out several of her own coins and dropped them into the box sitting on the edge of the cart. Beaming, the small flower woman scooped up a bouquet of the lilies and handed them over, bowing slightly.

"Thank you very much young lady."

Kagura took the flowers with a shrug and a grin. "No problem," she said as she started walking again.

Blinking, Sakaki followed after her, forgetting that she had wanted to make her own donation.

It wasn't the fact that Kagura had made the donation that had been so surprising. Sakaki had no trouble with her friend's spontaneous generosity. It was something else.

The fact that Kagura had actually taken the flowers.

Kagura, who couldn't tell a lily from a sunflower or a rose from a tulip and who couldn't care less about the enormous differences between them, had actually _taken _the flowers.

Shaking her head, Sakaki noticed that she had fallen behind a bit and lengthened her stride to catch up to her friend. As she came up along side her once more, Kagura surprised her again.

She held the flowers out to her.

"Here. They're your favorite, aren't they?"

Sakaki looked down at the delicate pink and white petals that were suddenly inches away from her face. Their soft scent tickled the inside of her nose and she had the sudden urge to gather them in her arms and hold them against her cheek. Instead, she shifted her gaze and saw Kagura watching her with an odd little expression in her light brown eyes. In the four plus years that they had been friends, she had never noticed that Kagura's eyes had thin greenish rings that seemed to float around her pupils. Or were they grey? She'd have to be closer to really see . . .

After a long moment, the shorter woman's eyebrows raised and the look disappeared behind one of puzzlement.

"Sakaki? Take them, honestly. I'll kill them."

Startled, Sakaki unconsciously took the flowers before she could consider any reasons that she shouldn't.

"You like them, don't you?" Kagura's voice sounded almost as if it had a hint of anxiety in it, but Sakaki decided it must have been her imagination. She tried to clear her head—it felt sluggish, as if she had just woken-up—but couldn't really think of anything beyond the flowers that were now cradled gently in her arms.

"I . . . yes. They are my favorite. How did you know?" she stammered quietly.

Kagura hunched her shoulders and something that faintly resembled a blush darkened her cheeks, though it may have just been the slightly chilly wind that chose that moment to kick up.

"You must've told me. How else would I have known? C'mon. I'm going to be late for practice," she replied, picking up her pace a bit. Sakaki accepted the answer and fell into step behind her friend. Because even though her mind—notorious for not forgetting anything—couldn't recall having ever mentioned to Kagura—who never showed any interested in knowing—what her favorite flower was.

But she must have. How else could she have known?

Sakaki stopped suddenly in mid-step, reaching one hand forward to grab hold of Kagura's arm. The shorter woman let out a quick yelp as she was dragged to a halt.

"Wait. You forgot to get your taiyaki."

The confusion on Kagura's face dissolved into a wide grin and she waved away Sakaki's observation. "Nay, I decided I probably didn't want to spend one hundred yen on indigestion anyway. Besides, I gave all my change to the flower lady."

Sakaki felt her fingers tighten ever so slightly around the stems in her hands. "Won't you be hungry at practice?"

"No big deal. Somebody will probably have something I can bum."

As she stood there, hands, nose, and head full of flowers, it seemed to Sakaki almost as if someone—or something—was slowly taking control of her. She heard herself say, in a voice that sounded, to her ears, nothing like her,

"You still have an hour and a half. And there's that little café that's just by the gym. We could grab something there. My treat."

Kagura tilted her head to one side and her grin widened.

"Okay."


	3. Useless

"Sheesh, not so fast Yomi."

"If we go any slower, we won't be moving."

"Well excuse me for being a cripple. Have a heart."

"You're not a cripple. You have a broken leg."

"I sure _feel_ like a cripple. This thing is heavy. I feel like there's an elephant hanging off of my leg."

"That doesn't make any sense. How would an elephant hang off your leg?"

"Ok. So maybe not an elephant. Maybe it feels like a kid is hanging off my leg."

"You're an idiot."

"What does that have to do with my leg?"

"Nothing. Just making an observation."

"Well if you're done observing, do ya think you could open the door?"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?"

"You just said you were ob—"

"Shut up."

"Open the door already. I'm tired and I think the drugs are wearing off."

"I'm doing my best. It's a little hard with you hanging off me like . . ."

". . . like a little kid?"

Pause. "I hate you."

"Who you kidding? You love me."

"I hate you and your elephant leg."

"Yoooomiiii! Open the doooo—ooof!"

Tomo, who had been simultaneously hanging off Yomi's shoulder and pushing on the front door to their apartment, fell forward into the empty hallway, landing on her face with a thud. With her hand still holding the keys, still stuck in the doorknob, Yomi rolled her eyes and sighed. She tugged on the keys, slipped them into her purse, and knelt down beside her friend.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Owww," Tomo moaned into the floor.

"I'll take that as a yes. Come on," Yomi said, helping her friend up and slinging one arm over her own shoulders to support her. Tomo took a few assisted steps further into the hallway and then stopped, clenching one hand into a fist.

"This sucks! How am I supposed to move with this thing?" she fumed, swinging at the wall, only to find the wall was too far away. She glared at it for a long moment, and then swung even harder.

Yomi's eyes went skyward again as she tried to hold Tomo steady.

"Carefully would probably be the best way."

Tomo paused, her hand in mid-air.

"Ca-re-fu-lly?" she repeated slowly, much like she used to do in high school language class whenever she came across a word she had trouble with. Shifting her grip slightly, Yomi tipped her glasses further up her nose.

"Yes, I'm aware that it's not a word in your vocabulary. Do you think we can keep moving? You're not exactly a lightweight."

Tomo's eyes narrowed after a second of thought. "Wait a minute. Did you just call me fat? That's my job!"

"It's your job to call yourself fat?"

Mouth open in indignation, Tomo had the expression of a fish who had just bitten into what it thought was a tasty worm only to find it was a hook. She deflated almost immediately, shoulders slumping.

"I'm tired," she repeated.

"Well, it's not too much farther to your room. You can lie down and take a nap or something."

Yomi expected some kind of retort about 'how she wasn't a kid who had to be put down for a nap' but surprisingly Tomo just gave a quiet nod. Together they moved slowly into the living room but when Yomi started towards Tomo's room, her friend resisted.

"Actually, maybe I could just sit out here? I don't really want to go to sleep. I feel like I've been sleeping for days."

Nodding, Yomi shifted direction and they hobbled over toward the slightly ragged blue couch pushed up against the wall. Wincing slightly, Tomo sank down onto the cushions. With nearly identical expressions of thought on their faces, the two women stared down at the huge white cast on her leg as it stood out awkwardly from the couch. After a moment, Yomi bent down and dragged the wobbly coffee table over and propped Tomo's leg up on it. She glanced over at Tomo who beamed and gave her a thumbs up.

Straightening, she set one hand on her hip. "Okay, so stay there and I'll get your pills and a glass of water."

"Could you bring me some fresh snow crab while you're at it?"

"No, but I can shove your pills down your throat if you'd like."

Tomo pouted. "Is that anyway to talk to the person who saved your life?"

Shaking her head, Yomi turned and headed back behind the couch into the kitchen area. "Where would I even get fresh snow crabs from?" she asked.

"I have no idea. I can't give you _all_ the answers otherwise it wouldn't be any fun. Besides, you're the smart one," Tomo declared, stretching out her hand for the remote that sat on the coffee table, just out of reach.

In the kitchen Yomi opened the cupboard, reached up for a glass, and then paused. She bypassed the glass and plucked out one of the sturdy teacups she had insisted they buy, despite Tomo's protests that only old ladies and health nuts drank tea. Of course, that didn't stop her from drinking it if it happened to be put in front of her. Then again, there really wasn't much Tomo wouldn't eat or drink if it was put in front of her. Sometimes Yomi wondered if the girl just closed her eyes and inhaled anytime she sat down at a table.

After a second thought, she pulled down a second teacup.

"What's taking so long in there? Are you drawing up the well water or what?"

Yomi filled a small metal teakettle with water and set it on the stove, trying her best to avoid clenching her teeth. "I'm making tea."

"What for? Only old ladies and health nuts drink that stuff. Come here you stupid little—"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, not you. The remote."

"Oh. Well don't reach for it. You'll fall off the—"

CRASH!

"—couch."

Sighing, Yomi reached back into the cupboard for the tea, keeping her ear tilted towards the living room. When a minute had slipped past without any sounds, she began to worry that Tomo might have knocked herself unconscious somehow. She started to turn.

"Ouch. Yomi. Yomi, I fell."

"No kidding."

"I think I broke my leg."

"Which one?"

"The right one."

"That's handy, considering it's already in a cast."

"Yomi. I can't get up."

"Hold a second. I'll be there in a second."

"Yoooooooommmmmmmmiiiiii!"

"I said hold on! You won't die from sitting on the floor."

"I dunno. Have you taken a good look at our floor lately?"

"Ninety-eight percent of what you see on that floor is from you Tomo. Ever heard of a vacuum cleaner?"

"Of course I've heard of a vacuum cleaner. I've just never used one."

Yomi laughed softly—what else could she do—as she carefully measured out tea into the cups. Taking the kettle off of the stove, she poured the steaming water over the tiny particles, watching idly as they darkened and swirled together. Once both cups were full she set the kettle back on the stove, picked up the cups by their handles, and moved back into the living room.

Tomo, as she had imagined, was sprawled out in front of the couch, once again flat on her face. Chuckling, Yomi set the cups down on the coffee table and wondered what exactly it was about Tomo's face that was so attracted to the floor.

"Are you just going to stand there staring at my ass or are you going to help me up?"

At least, that's what Yomi assumed she said. With Tomo's mouth pressed into the carpet it sounded something more like random mumbling that anything coherent.

"I am not staring at your ass. I'm thinking about how big of a moron you are."

Tomo shifted her head slightly so that her mouth was free. "Well could you think later? I'm getting a crick in my neck."

Kneeling down, Yomi slipped her arms underneath her friend. In response, Tomo wound her arms around Yomi's shoulders. Her face pressed into Yomi's neck, her lips accidently brushing the skin of her throat.

It was funny, because Tomo must have thrown her arms around Yomi's neck at least three times a day, every day, for the past twelve years or so. Always exuberantly with some kind of shout that would ring in Yomi's ear for minutes afterward. And Yomi would sigh, unwind Tomo's stranglehold on her, and inwardly acknowledge that however annoying and slightly painful those spontaneous hugs were, they were her friend's way of showing, in a very boisterous way, how much she appreciated their friendship. And that knowledge gave Yomi a warm feeling inside as well as the patience to deal with Tomo's antics.

But this time, and Yomi couldn't say exactly why—maybe it was the gentle way in which Tomo's arms slid around her, or the fact that they were alone, or maybe it was the lingering effects of a near death experience—but it was something other than a warm feeling curling up in her stomach.

In fact, Yomi just barely repressed a shiver.

Panicking slightly, she nearly threw Tomo onto the couch. While her friend bounced on the cushion, she swooped down and grabbed one of the tea cups, wrapping her fingers around it. Tomo looked up at her in surprise and opened her mouth.

"I forgot your pills!" Yomi stated hurriedly, scooting back into the kitchen.

Tomo popped her head over the back of the couch and watched as the taller girl shuffled around the kitchen in a semi-frantic state. The sight of Yomi flustered was about as puzzling as algebra. Or English, Yukari style.

"Are you alright, Yomi?" she asked after watching Yomi walk back and forth in front of the kitchen counter almost a dozen times.

Yomi jumped slightly. "I'm fine!" she squeaked. Clearing her throat, she added, "I uh . . . just can't find your pills. That's all."

Tomo pursed her lips. "Um . . . they're right there on the counter in front of you. You'd probably see them if you stopped pacing."

Pausing in mid-step, Yomi glanced down at the counter top. Sure enough, the tiny orange bottle was sitting in front of her, right where she had put it before she had started making tea. She gave a weak laugh and rubbed a hand over her heart, wondering where the jittery feeling that had set her pacing in the first place had come from. It wasn't like Tomo had been biting her neck or anything. And who's to say Tomo would even want to bite her neck? Just because she was gay didn't mean she was attracted to Yomi. They had been living together for almost two years now. Maybe she wasn't even Tomo's type. She didn't really seem to be _anyone's_ type those days. She let out a long sigh and wondered if it made her an idiot or just pathetic to hope that at least Tomo found her attractive.

"Yomi?"

Yomi looked up and saw Tomo was watching her with her "concerned" face on. She nearly laughed again. Tomo's "concerned" face looked a little bit like someone else's "indigestion" face.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Sighing again, Yomi nodded and grabbed the pill bottle from the counter. "Yeah," she said, heading back into the living room. "I guess it just sort of hit me that you could have died today. That you jumped in front of a car to save my life. And you could have died."

Tomo grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I totally could have, couldn't I've? I didn't really think that part out. I guess I didn't really have time to. But then again, I probably wouldn't have thought about it if I did have time."

"Why did you do it?"

Tomo tilted her head slightly. "Why did I not think about it? I just told you, I didn't have ti—"

"No, knucklehead. Why did you jump in front of the car?"

"Well that's easy. Because I didn't want it to hit you."

"Well I didn't exactly want it to hit you, you know."

Tomo shrugged. "Yeah but I figured when you get right down to it, the world needs you more than it needs me."

Yomi blinked at the off-handedness of the comment. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

Another shrug. "Let's look at the reality of it. You're probably going to discover a cure for cancer or something. In ten years, they'll probably tell me that I _cause_ four types of cancer."

Rolling her eyes, Yomi sat down on the couch and, after popping the top of the bottle, handed Tomo the pills. "People don't cause cancer."

"My point is that you're useful and I'm pretty much useless. Plenty of useless people in the world. Nobody would even miss it if one went missing."

Yomi frowned and looked hard at the dark haired girl sitting in front of her, trying to figure out if she was being serious or not. The trouble was that Tomo was so infrequently serious that Yomi couldn't quite remember what the expression looked like. But the somber words spoken in Tomo's cheerful cadence were unsettling, even if she was only joking. 'Nobody would even miss it if one went missing' sounded an awful lot like 'Nobody would miss me if I was gone.'

"I would miss it," Yomi stated, leaning back into the couch and trying to sound casual.

Tomo's eyebrows quirked. "Really? You'd miss one useless person out of millions?"

Yomi nodded. "Of course. No one's useless quite like you are. I mean," she continued as Tomo chuckled, "if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have first hand experience of what it feels like to be fingerprinted. Or know how many sake bottles you can stack before they fall over on you. Or how fast I can run when being chased by two pit bulls. Or what the old woman's apartment next door looks like when she's not home. Or what it feels like to have a friend who would throw herself in front of a car for you. I'd have missed out on a lot of things."

When she finished, she took a sip of her tea and tried to appear as if she were calmer than she actually felt. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Tomo fiddling with the bottle in her hand, rattling the tiny white pills around in the bottom. Yomi wondered what she was thinking, if she was thinking at all.

Just as she began to get nervous, Tomo flashed her typical goofy grin. "Hey, you want to watch a movie or something?"

Smiling slightly, Yomi took another sip of her tea. "Sure."


	4. The Cafe

The café near the gym was small and cramped; a place to pick up a cup of tea or coffee and a pastry or to sit down and have a quick bowl of soup or noodles. It was also, at the moment, very, _very_ crowded. As Kagura slid into her seat across the tiny table from Sakaki and, as she pulled in the chair to accommodate the person sitting behind her, felt their knees bump, she wondered if perhaps this would be considered a bad idea.

She also wondered if her face was as red as it felt.

When she looked up, she saw that Sakaki's lips were moving but she couldn't hear a thing her friend was saying over the din of the crowd.

"What?" she asked, hunching over the table to put her head closer. Which turned out to definitely be a bad idea because Sakaki, clueless Sakaki, responded by leaning forward slightly as well and speaking directly into her ear. And the soft breath of her quiet voice whispering over the sensitive skin had fireworks going off in Kagura's stomach.

"The crowd usually dies down in a few minutes."

Struggling to keep from bolting upright and probably scaring the crap out of her friend, Kagura flashed an awkward smile and, for lack of a better idea, gave an over exuberant thumbs up. When Sakaki gave her a strange look, she wondered if the table was big enough to thunk her forehead onto.

But the waitress took that moment to squeeze in-between the tables. Kagura couldn't hear her either.

"Uh . . . juice?" she tried, as the waitress looked at her expectantly. The woman nodded and scribbled her answer down on a notepad before turning to Sakaki. Turning her head, Kagura strained to make out her friend's response.

" . . . tea."

The woman nodded and disappeared back into the fold of people that seemed to cut their table off from the rest of the café. Kagura scanned the bodies and faces, half looking for anyone she recognized and half-avoiding turning back where she knew Sakaki was just a few inches away. But after a few minutes her neck began to cramp and she thought it might seem a little weird to keep staring at the same faces. When she turned back, her friend was in classic Sakaki pose; chin settled in one hand, eyes searching the world outside the window. Kagura followed her line of sight and saw a trio of cute, fat little birds hopping around, pecking at the grass in search of their own meal. Inwardly she laughed and felt her nerves lessen; same ol' Sakaki.

"So, do you come here a lot then?" she asked, drumming her hands on the table.

Sakaki turned and it was her turn to lean forward, her lips simultaneously forming the word "what".

Grinning, Kagura all but launched herself onto the table. "I said," she began. As she put her face near Sakaki's ear she could smell the flowers that she had given her earlier, that were now tucked away somewhere by their feet, as well as faint wisp of vanilla that came from the young woman's long, dark hair. Some of her nerves blossomed again and she had trouble remembering the sentence she had been about to speak. "Uh . . . do you . . . do you come here a lot?"

Sakaki nodded and before Kagura could pull back, she said, "It's much quieter in the morning and later at night."

Before her brain could even consider telling her it was rude to ask, she blurted out, "Do you come here alone?"

Sakaki blinked and Kagura felt like kicking herself in the head. And then the dark haired girl leaned forward again. "What?"

To Kagura's immense relief their waitress reappeared and set their drinks down. She then took out her small writing pad again and turned to Sakaki, pencil poised. Sakaki's mouth moved briefly and this time Kagura couldn't make out anything that she said. The waitress smiled and nodded enthusiastically. She turned.

"And for you?"

Kagura stared back blankly. She hadn't even looked at the menu. Hell, she hadn't even _seen _a menu.

"Uh . . ." After a second of thought, she pointed at Sakaki and said, "I'll have what she's having."

The waitress beamed and nodding once more, disappeared again into the crowd. Bringing her eyes back to Sakaki, Kagura found her friend watching her with a curious expression on her face. Unconsciously, she turned around to glance behind her.

"What is it?" she asked, turning back around when she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Sakaki gave a small shrug of her shoulders and took a sip of her tea.

"I just didn't know that you liked snails."

Kagura couldn't stop herself from gagging. "Is _that_ what you ordered?"

To her surprise, Sakaki's lips curved into a smile and she laughed, a surprising girlish sound coming from the quiet and reserved young woman. "No. I just couldn't resist."

Kagura gave her own laugh of relief and tried to ignore the way her heart bumped at being on the receiving end of one of her friend's shy smiles; Sakaki didn't smile very often. Well . . . that wasn't entirely true.

She just didn't smile very often at _people_.

"Wow, I can't believe you made a joke." Even as she was wincing, the noise level in the café dropped dramatically as several of the noisier groups left. Her words seemed to echo off the now nearly empty room. Certain she had offended her friend, Kagura held up her hands. "I mean, I've just never heard you be funny . . ." she trailed off and slapped herself on the forehead. Peeking out from under her hand, she looked directly into her friend's unreadable face. "Save me, please."

Responding to the distress in Kagura's voice—she hated making anyone feel uncomfortable—Sakaki reached out and patted the athlete's free hand. She had moment to feel how warm her skin was compared to her own before she pulled her fingers back across the table.

"It's fine. I'm not offended. I know I've never been the wildcat of our group."

At the word 'wildcat' both of their thoughts shifted in the same direction.

Kagura shook her head first. "I can't believe it. I know Tomo's got spunk, but jumping in front of a car? I didn't know the little twerp had that kind of guts."

Sakaki took another sip of her tea. "Tomo's cared about Yomi for a long time. Probably longer than she even admits to herself. I don't find it that surprising that she would risk her life for her." She paused, and then added so quietly that Kagura could barely hear her, "It must be nice to have someone . . . feel that way about you."

Sighing, Kagura took a long swallow of her own juice. "Nicer to know about it. At least . . . that's what I think."

Neither woman looked at the other.

"Do you think Tomo'll ever tell her?"

Lifting her shoulders, Sakaki brushed back a loose strand of hair that had fallen into her plate. "It's hard to say how Yomi would react to knowing."

Rolling her eyes, Kagura replied, "That's true. She nearly flipped a shit at the hospital."

The waitress returned to their table and set two bowls down in front of them, along with two sets of chopsticks. Once she left, Kagura looked down at the steaming noodles, her stomach rumbling noisily.

"So, what did we order?" she asked, picking up her chopsticks, ready to dive in.

"Soy noodles."

"Hey, my favorite!" And with that, she wasted no time all but shoveling the food into her mouth.

Unnoticed, Sakaki watched her for a few moments, a soft smile on her lips. _I know._

* * *

It seemed to Kagura only a few minutes later when they stepped outside the café to a noticeably cooler evening but an idle glance at the watch she didn't remember putting on that morning showed that almost an hour and a half had passed. She blinked in surprise, and then brought it close to her face just to be sure. Yep, it definitely said five minutes to six. Her mouth fell open and she turned to Sakaki, feeling a strange disappoint rising inside of her.

"Kagura! Hey Kagura?"

Kagura's mouth snapped shut and her head whipped around. Jogging toward her was a tall, lithe girl that she recognized as one of her teammates from the swim team. Dressed in street clothes. Guess I'm not the only one who's late.

The girl slowed to a halt in front of them, giving Sakaki a curious glance before focusing on Kagura. "Hey, glad I caught you. Practice was canceled."

"Canceled?" Kagura expected to feel a rush of disappointment as was surprised when something closer to elation filled her. And confused. After all, she liked swimming practice. Sure, it wasn't as good as a match, but any chance to be in the pool . . . Unconsciously she found herself sneaking a sideways glance at Sakaki. Her friend's face was unreadable as usual. "How come?"

The girl laughed. "They say Coach got food poisoning but we figure he probably has a hang over." Her eyes flickered back over to Sakaki and gave her a longer appraisal. "Hey, you ever think of joining the swim team?"

Sakaki stared. "Um . . ."

It was Kagura's turn to laugh. "Believe me, I've already tried, Hitomi. Every year since high school. Sakaki's a lone wolf when it comes to athletics."

Hitomi shrugged and flashed a wry grin. "Two heads are better than one, right? Come on Sakaki, what do you say?"

Sakaki remained silent. Her lack of an answer did not seem to faze Hitomi. "Well, think about it. Anyway, see you tomorrow Kagura, if Coach manages to drag himself out of the toilet."

Kagura laughed again and waved. "Yeah, see you."

An awkward silence descended as they both watched the other girl jog away. Kagura knew she should probably use the time she would have been swimming studying-god knew her grades were all but begging her-but she really did not feel like going back to her cramped apartment, dragging out her books, and trying to figure out what the hell she was supposed to be learning. She wondered if Sakaki had plans to study or if maybe she would feel like hanging out some more. The thought made Kagura's stomach bubble with a mixture of excitement and nausea. Maybe she shouldn't push it.

After a few more minutes of silence, she snuck another look at her friend and saw that the taller woman was still staring in the direction that Hitomi had gone. Well, they couldn't stand there all night. Well, they could but it would look a little stupid. Taking a deep breath, she said,

"So—"

"Miss Sakaki!"

The shout was deeper than the last and both Kagura and Sakaki turned to watch a lanky, brown haired young man wave in their direction. He headed towards them, his long legs eating up the distance quickly though every so often he paused to wave at someone who waved at him first. Kagura watched his approach closely, trying to coax her mind into telling her where she had seen his face before. It was an attractive face, sharply angled and smooth, the kind of face that a majority of girls probably sighed into their pillows over.

Kagura thought his eyes were spaced too far apart. And maybe they were a little crooked.

She glanced over at Sakaki and felt a small, short burst of something hot shoot across her brain when she noticed that Sakaki's cheeks were flushed slightly as she too watched the young man's progress.

Yeah, _definitely _crooked.

He flashed what some girls might consider a charming grin—Kagura thought it looked cocky—and bowed his head slightly to the two of them before turning his attention solely to Sakaki.

"I'm glad I found you, Miss Sakaki. Some of us from class are setting up a small review session for the exam tomorrow. We would be honored if you would join us."

_Yeah I bet, _Kagura thought sourly as she jammed her fists inside her jacket and tried to ignore the twinge that felt suspiciously like jealousy. After all, what was there to be jealous of? Nothing, that's what. It wasn't like she was desperate for Sakaki's attention or something. Hell, they just had dinner together. Which, by the way, was perfectly normal for friends to do. Unbidden, her eyes drifted down to the bouquet of flowers still clutched in Sakaki's hand.

Friends gave each other bouquets of flowers.

She barely resisted slapping herself in the forehead.

_You're an idiot_, her brain cheerfully told her.

_I know_, Kagura thought back.

_And you're not fooling anyone, you know._

_I know!_

So caught up in the argument in her head, Kagura almost didn't catch Sakaki's quiet, formal response.

"Thank you for the kind offer, but I must graciously decline."

Disappointment flashed across the young man's face but he recovered quickly. His smile a bit tight, he bowed again. "Of course. Should you change your mind, we are meeting in the classroom. A pleasant evening to you."

As she watched him saunter off, Kagura's mind finally clicked into place. Eyes wide, she turned to Sakaki with something of a slack jaw. "That's Mitsuo Takahashi. He's the captain of the basketball team."

Sakaki nodded and began to walk. "Yes. He's in one of my biology classes."

Stuffing her hands into the pockets of her jacket, Kagura fell into step beside her. "You could have gone with him. I wouldn't have minded," she said, lying through her teeth.

The taller woman stopped underneath a street lamp just as it sputtered to life, not quite in time to catch the flash of hurt flicker across her face. "I'm not taking the exam tomorrow. It's only for those who feel they did not do well enough on the previous exams."

"Oh," Kagura offered, not able to think of anything else to say.

"Besides, I thought that . . ." Sakaki trailed off, looking away.

Kagura tilted her head. "What?"

After a moment, Sakaki shook her head. "Nothing."

The awkward silence returned. And then, as if in response to some unspoken agreement, they both began to walk at the same time.

At first Kagura assumed they were just wandering, moving through the sparsely populated quads and past the buildings where light could be seen shining through the windows of a few of the classrooms.

But as they kept walking, steadily in the same direction, she got the feeling the Sakaki had a destination in mind.

It wasn't until they were standing in front of a plain brown door and her friend was inserting a key into a lock that Kagura realized that it was home that Sakaki had been heading toward.

"Is this where you live?" she heard herself ask, even though the answer was obvious. Sakaki nodded and pushed open the door, leaving it ajar so Kagura could follow.

Kagura blinked as she realized that in the two years since they had started university, she hadn't once been to her friend's home. Was that weird? That was weird. Her forehead wrinkled. Now that she thought about it, she'd never been to Sakaki's house in high school either. That was definitely weird. Her mind, never quick to offer up math solutions or literary revelations, rapidly supplied several suggestions to on why she had never born witness to Sakaki's dwellings.

1) Neat as a pin Sakaki was actually a slob and didn't want anyone to see the state that she lived in.

2) She often had dead bodies that needed to be disposed of.

3) Sakaki was a secret agent.

It occurred to Kagura that the last two suggestions were probably simply a product of having spent far too much with Osaka. She quickly discarded them.

She discarded the first one as well as soon as she stepped through the doorway. Sakaki's apartment was . . . perfectly normal. Small but clean without any clutter. There were no dishes in the sink or on the low table. The bed was neatly made and surprisingly full of cute, stuffed animals. There was a desk as well, pushed up against a wall, and also clear, save for a stack of books and a jar of pens and pencils.

Kagura scratched at the back of her head and glanced over at Sakaki, who stood near the sink with something that almost resembled apprehension on her face.

"I feel messy just standing here," Kagura joked, grinning.

Sakaki gave one of her slow, shy smiles. "Would you like anything to drink?"

Shaking her head, Kagura bounced on the balls of her feet lightly. "Nah. I should probably head back to my place." She frowned. "Since practice is canceled I ought to study or something. They might kick me out if my grades get any lower."

As she turned toward the door she felt something sharp dig into the back of her neck and winced. Catching sight of the expression, Sakaki stepped forward.

"Are you alright?"

Hunching her shoulders and reaching back with her left arm, Kagura fished around for whatever it was that had caused the pain. Her fingers brushed over something jagged but couldn't seem to grab hold of it.

"Yeah, I think the tag on my jacket is twisted funny," she guessed.

"Here, let me help." Before Kagura could think of a protest, Sakaki closed the distance between them and, leaning down and over her shoulder, pulled back the collar of her coat.

Kagura felt her breath back up as she found herself staring at the long line of her friend's neck. Sakaki's fingers were soft as they accidentally brushed the back of her neck and Kagura found herself squeezing her hands so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

After only a second or so, Sakaki pulled back slightly.

"Is that . . ." she trailed off, surprised at how close Kagura still was. Close enough to feel the heat radiating from her skin. Close enough to hear her quiet, unsteady breaths. Close enough to see that the little circles around her eyes were, in fact, green.

That was the last thought she had.

Kagura, on the other hand, did not have any thoughts. Not one. She stared into Sakaki solemn, striking eyes and, without even realizing she was doing it, pushed up onto her toes and tilted her head back.

Their lips met in a gentle press.

And then, a-not-so gentle press.

Sakaki's mind only barely registered that as Kagura's hand was snaking around her neck and drawing her closer her own were slipping around to press against the small of the athlete's back. She could practically feel through the jacket the tension vibrating in the muscles there but though she tried to rub her hands along them in a soothing motion she found her fingers curling into the material instead. Her head began to spin and she felt her face flush. She wondered if she was still breathing and every brush, glide, press, and tug of Kagura's lips against hers sent a cascade of shivers and tingles down along her skin.

The phone rang.

As if the loud ringing were a bucket of icy cold water hitting them, the two all but leapt apart. The normally well balanced Kagura stumbled backwards and Sakaki felt as if her own world were none to steady. They stared at each other, eyes mirror images of one another.

The phone rang again.

Shaking her head, Kagura mouth opened and closed. And opened and closed.

"I gotta go," she mumbled, bolting out the still open door.

The phone rang again.

Sakaki continued to stare at the empty space that, until seconds ago, Kagura had been occupying. It was as if her brain refused to acknowledge that her friend was no longer standing there.

The phone rang again.

Blinking slowly, Sakaki dropped her eyes to the blue phone that sat on the counter. She reached out pausing when she noticed her hand was trembling violently.

The phone rang again.

She picked up the receiver and held it to her ear.

"Hello? . . . Hello, Chiyo . . . Yes . . .No, I'm fine. . . Yes. I . . . just got in. . . Actually, I'm not really feeling all that well. May I call you back? . . . Yes . . . no, nothing serious. . . I will . . . Goodnight, Chiyo."

Setting the receiver back down onto the rest, she placed her hands on either side of it on the counter and waited for the buzzing in her head to quiet down.

And when it did, she grabbed her coat from off the bed and ran out the door.


	5. This Is How It Happens

One movie turned into two, which turned into a marathon of episodes of some show that Yomi had never heard of before but that Tomo swore was the "awesomest thing that ever awes'ed." As credits rolled for the fifteenth time that night, Yomi found herself again struggling to comprehend anything that she had just seen in that particular stretch of thirty minutes. Or any of the thirty minute segments before that. _It's a bunch of girls who go to high school. Nothing ever happens! What's so awesome about that?_

Shaking her head, Yomi looked over at Tomo who, for all intensive purposes, was either dead or fast asleep. The way her mouth hung agape like a fish out of water made either state of being likely. Then the dark haired girl made a sound that was a mix of a snort and a gurgle, leaving Yomi to believe all was well. The television flickered with the announcement of yet another episode and, before she could get sucked into it, Yomi hit the power button on the remote. The darkness that followed was nearly absolute, save for the faint light that came from the clock on the DVD player. It read 2:47.

"Hey. I was watching that." Tomo's low, sleepy voice drifted over from the other side of the couch.

"You were asleep."

"No I wasn't."

"You were snoring."

"Well, sleeping is the only real way to watch television."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"Ah, right. Because you're the expert here."

"That's right."

"You're ridiculous."

"Yeah, ridiculously brilliant. Let's watch another movie."

"I can't. I have an early class tomorrow."

"So skip it. That's what I'm doing."

"Yes, but that's what you do for every class. Your professors are used to it. Besides, you've got a broken leg. No one would expect you to go to class the day after being hit by a car. My professor would probably hunt me down if I missed his class."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to come to your rescue. Again. I'll use my oh-so amazing charms to convince your evil professor to release you from his grasp!"

"Right. I'm pretty sure you can't make it to your room by yourself, let alone all the way across campus."

Yomi felt, rather than saw, Tomo shoot up straight on the couch and from the tone of her voice, could imagine the indignant finger she had thrust into the air.

"Is that some kind of challenge?"

Rolling her eyes, Yomi thought, _she has got to stop hanging out with Kagura so much._ "No."

"Oh," came Tomo's slightly dispirited reply. The couch cushions shifted as she sank back into them. But Yomi was surprised when she felt something come to rest against her shoulder. Even more so when she realized it was Tomo's head.

"You're probably right. I'd never make it, unless I could convince some poor sap to carry me."

Yomi could only nod silently, so focus was she on the heat that was seeping into her. For a few seconds, she wondered if Tomo was running a fever; she lifted her right hand to press against her friend's temple. It was halfway to her face before Yomi realized that the warmth that was spreading through her was not coming from Tomo. Instead it was oozing out from her chest and running along her arms and legs, making her skin tingle along the way. She suddenly forgot about how late it was and how early her class would be. She forgot about everything except how comforting it was to sit in the dark with her best friend. Quietly, no less. Yomi felt herself smile as she tried to remember the last time that Tomo was quiet and conscious. At the same time.

"What?" Tomo asked.

"What?" Yomi echoed.

"What are you smiling at?"

"How do you know I'm smiling?"

"Because I know you better than anyone else. You tap your foot when you smile. Like you're waiting for it to be over or something."

At those words, Yomi felt the curve of her lips fall away. As if it had been biding its time, waiting for that exact moment, the question that had been circling her mind all day long rudely shoved its way into the front of her mind. _Why didn't she tell me?_

"Hello? Yomi? Come on, tell me. Is it something funny?"

Turning her head towards Tomo, Yomi saw that her eyes had adjusted enough to allow her to see the faintest hint of her friend's face. She was looking at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"I was just thinking how nice it was. Sitting here. With you being quiet." Even as she said it, Yomi winced, hearing the heavy sarcasm that she could no longer seem to keep out of her voice, even when she tried. But, like always, Tomo did not seem to be offended.

"Oh. Well, you know what they say. Can't have too much of a good thing."

"I don't think they quite meant it like that."

"How else could they have meant it?"

"Never mind."

Silence descended once more, only this time the peaceful feeling had been replaced by an ever growing ball of anxiety that nestled itself in Yomi's stomach. That same question replayed over and over, each one louder than the one before. _Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she tell me?_

Finally she felt the words work their way into her throat and knew she couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Tomo?" she began, her eyes fixed in the direction of the television.

"Yup?"

Yomi took a deep breath and she felt herself brace – she wasn't sure what she was bracing for or against. It was impossible to predict how and where Tomo's reaction would fall.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were gay?"

There. The question hung out in the air in front of her, so heavy that Yomi wondered if she couldn't just reach out and take it back. The silence continued for several long moments that only served to heighten her anxiety. And then,

"What are you talking about?"

Yomi sighed as she heard what sounded like denial in Tomo's voice. "I know, Tomo. The others let it slip while we were at the hospital. I'm not mad. I just want to know why you felt like you couldn't tell me."

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting Tomo to say, but it certainly hadn't been that. After all, Tomo never denied _anything_. In fact, she often took credit for things she had no part in, even when it meant her getting in trouble.

"Are you some kind of moron? Maybe we have been friends too long. I think I'm starting to rub off on you."

Yomi's head whipped around again; she felt her jaw drop.

"What?" she managed to sputter out.

"Yomi, you were the FIRST person I told!"

She blinked. "Uh . . . what?"

"Remember? We went out to lunch the day after graduation to that place with the dancing octopus-squid thingy?"

There had been several times in Yomi's life, usually following a particularly heavy dose of Tomo's idiocy, that she had wondered just why she put up with so much of Tomo's insufferable antics. And one of the things she had often noted to herself was how much more she was able to remember of an event when Tomo was involved. It was as if the girl was some kind of memory boost. In this case, Yomi could perfectly picture the strange neon squid that had been blinking outside-

"The Underwater Palace," she heard herself confirm, even as she was pushing her memory forward to the conversations that had taken place inside. She frowned. "And you never said anything about being gay that night," she added.

"Are you kidding? It's ALL I talked about all night!"

"No, all you talked about was how much it was going to suck not having Ms. Yukari as a professor. And when you weren't talking about that, you were talking about some stupid book that Chiyo had told you about – some American thing about different colored fish."

"Exactly! I was making a simile."

"Do you mean a metaphor?"

"Whatever! The point is that I told you."

Yomi's frown deepened as she continued to replay the conversations from that night. No matter how many times she listened to them however, they didn't make any more sense than they had that night. At least now she understood why it hadn't made any sense. At the time she had just assumed it had been Tomo being Tomo.

"So, what was the metaphor exactly?" she asked after a moment.

There was a pause. "I don't really remember."

"You're an idiot."

"Yeah, but you're the one whose been friend's with me all this time."

"I can't even begin to imagine why."

"I'd say you're either a masochist or hopelessly in love with me."

Rolling her eyes, Yomi stood up. "Maybe I'm just waiting for the perfect moment to enact my revenge," she pointed out. She held out her hands. "Come on, I'll help you to your room."

There was the sound of rustling as Tomo shifted on the couch and Yomi felt her friend's thin fingers grab hold of hers with their surprising strength. Only to release them almost immediately.

"You're not going to throw me down the stairs or anything, are you?"

"We don't have any stairs, knucklehead. We're on the first floor."

"Oh, right. In that case." Yomi felt Tomo's grip return and she gently pulled the smaller girl to her feet. Wrapping one of Tomo's arms around her shoulder, she went about the task of navigating their way through their clutter-filled apartment in the dark. A task made more troublesome by Tomo's need to yell out every few steps at the various things that were "attacking" her.

"Just wait table! You'll get yours in the morning! And you boxes, you got something to say to me?!"

She punctuated each remark with a thrust of her fist that threatened Yomi's balance. And finally, as they reached the room and after another of Tomo's exuberant swings had nearly tipped her over, Yomi snapped,

"For god's sake Tomo, can't you go five feet without moving?"

Tomo lifted her eyes, her arm hanging in mid-swing. "Is that some kind of philosophical question?"

Yomi sighed. "No, I just meant that I'd much rather end up on your bed than your floor."

Even in the darkness Yomi could see Tomo's mischievously wide grin.

"Really? Yomi, you should have said."

Narrowing her eyes, Yomi pushed into the room, practically dragging Tomo along behind her. She had to admit, at least to herself, that she had walked into that one.

"Har, har. I've seen how you sleep. I'd be lucky to escape alive. Now hold still. God, it's a wonder you don't injure yourself every day. Do you need help with your sleep clothes?"

"First you want on my bed and now you're trying to get me out of my clothes, huh Yomi?"

Yomi pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I can break your other leg for you if you'd like," she offered.

Tomo chuckled. "I think I'm just going to sleep in these," she said, motioning down at her t-shirt and the sweatpants the nurse had cut to accommodate the cast. "They're practically pajamas anyway."

"Ok. Here. Let me help you into bed."

A short time later she was thinking what she should have said was, "let me help your _leg_ into bed," as getting Tomo to lie down was just a matter of pushing the shorter girl over. Hauling the cast up and onto the bed with her took a bit more muscle. When all of her friend was lying down comfortably, Yomi sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers up under Tomo's chin.

Tomo grinned up at her cheekily.

"Thanks mom! Are you going to read me a story and give me a goodnight kiss?"

In response, Yomi smacked the top of her head with a one-handed chop, albeit far lighter than she was accustomed to. Then, as an afterthought, she replayed the action, this time as a friendly pat.

"You really piss me off sometimes, you know," she said smiling. Tomo's grin widened.

"I know. It's my mission in life."

"Thanks. And thank you, for rescuing me."

"You're welcome."

"Promise me you won't throw yourself in front of a moving car again?"

"Not unless you promise not to stand in front of one."

"I'm serious, Tomo."

"So am I, Yomi." Light from the street lamps outside streamed through the room's lone window and Yomi was surprised by the intensity of the expression that had come onto Tomo's face. "I'm always going to jump in front of you whenever you're in danger. I can't help it. I love you."

A strange fluttery feeling erupted in Yomi's stomach and she did her best to ignore it as she returned Tomo's steady gaze. She wasn't sure exactly what was happening but she banked down on her usual urge to be flippant. Because regardless of how often the girl annoyed her, or infuriated her, or got her in trouble with the law, deep down even she, even stuffy Yomi as Tomo had once called her, could recognize that their relationship was built on a special bond.

And so she smiled and said, over the loud, erratic beating of her heart,

"I love you too, Tomo. You're my best friend."

Something flashed in Tomo's eyes but before Yomi could even try and guess as to what it was, the wild cat had lowered her gaze. Yomi opened her mouth, having no idea what she wanted to say, but Tomo beat her to the punch.

"Yeah? I'll have to remember that the next time I need cab money," she quipped, chuckling. But the laughter sounded . . . forced. Part of Yomi's mind told her to chalk it up to exhaustion and the side effects of the day's stress. It was late and she really needed to get to bed herself. But the other part of her brain kept her from moving, kept her looking down at her friend. After a minute, Tomo's eyes lifted and when their gazes locked, Yomi could see that there was something there in her friend's dark eyes, something that was not amusement, or boredom, or righteous indignation. It flickered across the surface as if it were diving in and out of a pool of bitter chocolate. Yomi followed it, trying to pinpoint what it was because it suddenly seemed so very important that she know.

It wasn't until they bumped noses that she realized that she had been leaning forward. But even as she thought to pull back, she found herself unable to. And as she hovered a few inches from Tomo's face, she felt a slow sense of awareness begin to sink in. Following on its heel was a rising surge of terror that must have shown on her face because Tomo, in an uncharacteristic whisper, asked,

"Are you alright?"

Yomi nodded slowly, swallowing hard. Her mouth felt suddenly dry. "Yes."

Tomo watched her silently for a moment, searching her face. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know," Yomi answered, even though it wasn't true. Even though, as she leaned forward again, she knew exactly what she was doing. She just had no idea why she was doing it. Or if it was really what she wanted.

But neither of those facts were enough to stop her from brushing her lips against Tomo's. Lightly at first, and then with a little more pressure.

She thought—expected—her friend to pull away. To yell at her or, worse, laugh. But once again Tomo surprised her.

After a moment of remaining completely still, Tomo's lips began to move, sliding against hers with a startling amount of skill. A shiver ran through Yomi and she tried to remember if any of the other, few, kisses she had experienced in her lifetime had ever made her feel like that. She did not know what to think when her brain shot back a resounding "no."

And then she found that she was having trouble thinking at all. Tomo's mouth was soft and warm and the quiet sighs that escaped when they paused to take a breath made her head light and her body feel weak. Her fingers curled into the sheets on either side of Tomo's head and her arms began to shake. Even as she started to shift her weight, Tomo pulled away.

Opening her eyes, Yomi saw her friend's face contorted in a mask of pain.

"Tomo?"

"Yomi, I . . . I . . ."

"Is it your leg? Should I get your pills?" Yomi was already scrambling to her feet, panic pushing its way into the already crowded chambers of her chest.

Tomo opened her mouth then seemed to change her mind. She nodded, closing her eyes tightly.

Yomi flew from the room and out into the hall, very narrowly missing the boxes that Tomo had been yelling at earlier. She snatched the pills up from the table in front of the television and moved into the kitchen, pulling down a glass from the cupboard. As she filled it with water from the sink, she pressed a hand over her heart, as if that would somehow slow its frantic beating. When the glass was full, she set it down on the counter, turned off the tap, and took a long, deep, shaky breath that did absolutely nothing to steady her. And although she would have liked to have taken five minutes to calm down, she did not want to leave Tomo languishing in pain. So she grabbed the pills and the water and hurried back.

When she re-entered the room, she saw that Tomo was rolled onto her side, facing the wall and seemingly asleep. After whispering the girl's name quietly and getting no response, Yomi quietly moved towards the small nightstand that was just to the right of the bed. She set the glass and the bottle of pills down on it and then turned to watch her friend's sleeping form. Some of the anxiety that had been building up inside of her drained away, leaving behind a small packet of giddiness situated just above her heart and the heavy sense that in the morning, things would be suddenly different. She could only wonder at how different.

It looked like she wouldn't be getting any sleeping after all.

"Good night, Tomo," she murmured quietly, backing out of the room slowly, closing the door as she left the room.

The door shut with a soft 'click' and Tomo opened the eyes that she had been squeezing shut. And, turning her face into her pillow, began to cry.


	6. Sprint

Once she had managed to stumble out the door of Sakaki's apartment, Kagura did the only thing she could think of; she put her head down and ran.

It didn't matter that she had no idea in what direction she was running or where she was going to run to. If she could have forced any other thoughts into her head at that moment, she would have asked herself why she was even running in the first place. After all, it wasn't as if Sakaki had pulled a gun on her or slapped her, or really done anything to show any kind of displeasure.

Then again, Sakaki wasn't generally known for displaying her emotions.

But Kagura couldn't think of any of those things. It was almost as if when her legs were pumping and her arms were swinging, the only focus of her mind was to put as much distance between her and the person behind her as possible. In that way, it was almost like any one of her light night runs where she pushed herself even though no one was watching. Pushed herself as if unseen competitors were racing with her.

Except there was a pain situated in the center of her chest that had never been there before. Her knees, sure. Shins, definitely. But never the center of her chest. If the idea hadn't seemed completely ludicrous, she might have considered a heart attack.

Whatever it was, it was messing everything up. Her stride was off, her rhythm clunky. Even her breathing was choppy.

It had started small, almost like a cramp, but every time her feet hit the pavement, it sharpened until it felt like someone had mistaken her for a vampire and staked her.

Finally it grew so bad that she had to pull up short, like a car stalling at an intersection. But even as she stood there, hunched slightly with her hands on her hips and wheezing uncharacteristically, the pain remained. She hunched over further, squeezing her eyes shut, and focused on sucking air through her nose, rather than her mouth.

"Dammit."

The single curse whistled out, barely loud enough for Kagura herself to hear it. And when that did not help to beat back the ache, she tried a little more force.

"DAMMIT!"

Nope, still didn't help.

Now that she was no longer running, the thoughts that had been kept at bay quickly began streaming in. Only to be immediately flattened by other thoughts far less comforting and mostly revolving around her being some manner of an idiot.

She sighed. There was definitely no way to deny it now. No way to convince herself that maybe she wasn't 100% sure. No more hiding behind admiration or even hero worship.

She liked Sakaki. Really liked her. Had always liked her, from the very beginning where she had first looked into Sakaki's blank stare that had so very clearly said, no, she did not recall competing against her at the sports fest. It had only been a small hitch at the time, barely noticeable, leaving her feeling just a little more embarrassed than the situation had warranted. How could she have known then that it would have transformed into the nearly unbearable hurt that was currently burrowing deeper into her chest?

Kagura sighed again and straightened, wincing slightly at the burning sensation working through her muscles. Out of habit, she began shaking her arms and legs to relieve the sensation.

Maybe . . . maybe in a couple of days she could just go back to Sakaki and apologize. Say it was . . . whatever. Whatever she had to say to salvage their friendship. Well, salvage was probably too strong a word. Sakaki wasn't really the type to throw away people just because they had different lifestyles. Not that she had a different lifestyle. She didn't really have much of a life outside of sports. . .

Rubbing at her forehead could feel the beginnings of a headache. Really, she just hoped everything could go back to what it was before with the minimum amount of weirdness. Maybe it would be one of those things they could laugh about in ten years.

Or something.

Just thinking about being friends with Sakaki made her cringe slightly and Kagura suddenly knew exactly how Tomo probably felt. She wondered if the wildcat even thought about it anymore, or if she had long ago resigned herself to the fate. Maybe she had some advice for how to block out the pain. Then again, maybe Tomo wasn't the best person to think about getting advice from.

Kagura was so absorbed in her self-defeating thoughts that when the hand gripped her shoulder she jumped a good foot off the ground and let out a blood curdling yelp.

Osaka gave her own long, drawn out version in response.

Clutching at her chest, Kagura sucked in a deep breath and stared at the equally wide eyed girl that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"You scared the hell out of me Osaka! What are you doing out here?"

Osaka blinked slowly, her freight forgotten.

"I was jus' walkin' back to my apartment. What are you doing? Preparin' for some big race or somethin'?"

Kagura rubbed the back of her neck briefly and unconsciously began stretching out her arms.

"No, not really. I just . . . needed to run I guess."

Her friend nodded sagely. "Yeah, I get like that sometimes."

One of Kagura's eyebrows lifted. "Really?"

A moment of silent contemplation passed. And then a hand waved negligently through the air.

"Sorry. I lied."

Rolling her eyes, Kagura felt herself smile as she sank down to stretch first her right and then her left leg.

"How far is it to your apartment? You want me to walk back with you?"

The words slipped out of her out of habit even though she wasn't really in the mood for company, it wasn't all that late out, and Osaka had, as far as she knew, outgrown the tendency to forget where she was going.

To Kagura's surprise, Osaka shook both her head and her hands vehemently.

"Wait!"

Kagura blinked and her mouth dropped open slightly. Before she could say anything, her friend was backing up.

"I mean, uh no, that's okay. I . . . uh . . . I have . . . something. Now. I'll see ya later!"

And with that, Osaka turned and skittered off leaving Kagura staring after her in complete confusion even after the girl disappeared around a corner.

"What the hell just happened?"

###

By the time Sakaki had passed through her doorway, Kagura was already out of sight. Not surprising, considering her athletic bent. But Sakaki did not hesitate to launch herself forward into a run, knowing that her friend was not one to go off on a side street if the path in front of her way unblocked.

Not to mention she could hear a few shouts of "Hey, watch it!" ringing out in the distance.

Her mind paid absolutely no attention to the world around her; it left the job of finding Kagura and avoiding anyone in her way solely up to her body. Instead it replayed the previous five minutes over and over again, as if it were a tape stuck on loop. But really each play through served to underscore a different thought, the first of which being surprise. Not in the way that Yomi had been surprised that morning at the hospital but by the fact that Kagura was interested in _her_. Her mind made that leap confidently, without any stuttering, as it helped to explain several of her friend's more puzzling behaviors that day.

That conclusion led her to consider her own response. She liked Kagura, had _always_ been fond of the spunky, forward, and often brash athlete. And she knew that her own behavior occasionally hinted that her feelings toward Kagura were more than simple friendship. It had just never occurred to her that an opportunity to express those feelings might present itself. And now that it had. . .

Now that it had, she found she couldn't bear the thought of not saying anything.

She gracefully threaded her way through a group of teenagers spread out and sauntering along the road. In seconds she had left them far behind her and they were forgotten, if they had even been acknowledged by her mind at all. Her eyes were shifting back and forth, searching for the flash of yellow that could be Kagura's jacket.

"DAMMIT!"

Sakaki's stopped so quickly that the soles of her shoes skidded across the pavement.

She knew that voice.

It had come echoing out of an alleyway just up ahead of her on the left. Every bit of her slowed, from her feet to her breath, until she was nearly tiptoeing forward. Leaning her head around the corner, she felt her heart pick up speed as she spied the back of her friend some twenty feet in.

Or maybe her heart had been the only thing that hadn't slowed down. She couldn't quite tell.

Kagura leaned to the right, obviously stretching out her left leg and Sakaki caught sight of Osaka standing in front of her, eyes wide and unblinking. Sakaki felt suddenly trapped in a manner she had not felt in several years, not since the first year of high school. She saw a place in front of her where she wanted to be but wasn't sure if she could go there. If she'd be allowed. Or welcomed.

Or wanted.

She could hear the vibrant tone of Kagura's voice, still strong despite the long sprint, though she couldn't make out any of the words. The sky overhead was darkening to dusk and the light from the street lamps just barely reached the two of them. As she looked on, trembling with indecision, she felt herself begin to step backwards. She couldn't help but notice, and though she never imagined that Kagura and Osaka . . . well, not that there was anything _wrong_ with Osaka . . . well nothing _terribly_ wrong . . . it was just that, looking at their forms in the dimming light, she saw that they were rather close in height, Kagura just a few inches taller.

Which made her a good six inches shorter than Sakaki. The image of herself as Godzilla, rampaging through the neighborhood while Kagura and Osaka clung to each other in terror flooded her mind.

She took another step back, half turning to head back the way she had come.

"Wait!"

She stopped, heart pounding, and glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Osaka scurrying off down the street. Kagura stared after her, head tilted to one side. After a moment, her right hand rose up and scratched at the back of her head. A sigh that seemed to fill the alleyway poured out of her, followed by,

"What a nut job."

And before Sakaki could blink, the athlete shifted and her head swung toward the alley's opening. Half a dozen thoughts leapt through Sakaki's mind; jump back, turn around, look away, do _anything_, in the half a second it took for their eyes to meet.


	7. How Long Is Too Long?

When Tomo heard the words "I love you too. You're my best friend" she just assumed that she was dreaming. After all, that was how all of her dreams with Yomi essentially ended. A pat on the head, a crooked grin, and the old I-love-you-too-just-not-the-way-you've-secretly-been-hoping. She couldn't quite remember the first time she had had that particular dream but she'd had it so many times over the years now that it hardly even hurt anymore.

But then when she first felt Yomi's mouth touch hers, she figured she _must_ have been dreaming. Or perhaps in some kind of coma from the accident.

Or possibly dead.

Because there was simply no possible way that Yomi, shamed and often reluctant to be seen with her Yomi, could be actually kissing her. In reality.

Without alcohol or a gun to her head.

She couldn't remember drinking anything and didn't own a gun, so she had felt pretty confident in the dream state. Since it was the closest she was ever likely to get to the real thing, Tomo did what she did in any situation.

She threw herself into it.

Her friend's lips were nearly as firm as she had imagined. Why wouldn't they be, with all the exercise they got being pressed into a thin, disapproving line? But Yomi's movements were clumsier . . . no, more hesitant, shyer than Tomo would have guessed. There was no flippant, sarcastic confidence in the soft kisses, no bored annoyance in the little tremors she could feel running along Yomi's skin.

Or were they running along hers?

She felt heat travel up from her stomach as the press of lips grew longer. Yomi shifted slightly and at the same time, a sharp pain shot through Tomo's leg. She drew back sharply and her eyes opened wide.

And suddenly she knew she wasn't dreaming at all.

"Tomo?"

Yomi's caramel colored eyes blinked down at her, darkened with desire and uncertainty, both of which Tomo could understand, even with her limited understanding. But behind them and growing by the minute, was something that looked an awful lot like fear.

And regret.

"Yomi, I. . . I. . ."

Yomi was already scrambling off of her, words pouring out of her mouth so quickly that Tomo could barely understand them.

"Is it . . .? Should I go . . .?"

Her heart wrenched and Tomo felt her mouth fall open at the unexpected pain. It was followed by a chill that washed over her as quickly as cold as the time she had fallen into a massive puddle during a heavy rainstorm. She closed her eyes and bobbed her head, wanting nothing more than to be alone in that moment.

And all the moments afterward.

She heard Yomi's flight from the room and had to bite down on her fist to keep the sob from coming out. Curling up, she turned toward the wall and pressed a hand to her heart.

_Of all the stupid, idiotic . . ._

The thought trailed off, her mind either too tired or too familiar with it to finish. It seemed like only seconds later that she heard the door open again and she forced herself into the unnatural position of absolutely still. Her name drifted across the room in a soft whisper that she had never heard her friend use before. She squeezed her eyes tighter and ignored it.

"Good night Tomo."

The door closed with a click. Tomo opened her eyes and felt the tears trickle down to soak into her pillow. She didn't even know why she was crying really. It's not like anything was different. She was still hopelessly and stupidly in love with Yomi and Yomi was, as usual, completely oblivious. Hadn't it been that way for the past eight years?

Except that now she really was hopeless. She'd always imagined that if she ever got up the nerve to confess her feelings to her friend that everything would fall magically into place. There would be smiles and kisses and nobody running from the room in abject horror.

Groaning quietly, Tomo lifted her head and then dropped it face down into the pillow. Maybe she should just suffocate herself. That would fix things.

Just as suddenly as the thought popped into her head, it was swept aside. Tomo pushed herself up into a sitting position, struggling just a bit with her cast.

No, she wasn't going to do that. She was Tomo Takino dammit. So what if Yomi wasn't in love with her? So what if Yomi thought . . . whatever it was she thought? A minor setback in a universe of possibilities! The world was still her oyster! After all, how many times a week must Ms. Yukari get rejected? That didn't stop her from firing up the Yukari mobile every weekend.

She frowned slightly as the burst of enthusiasm faded and her eyes shifted toward the small desk pushed up against the window. It was filled with books and papers piled hazardously high without even a hint of organization. Teetering on the edge and skewed slightly, was a silver frame, battered from numerous falls to the floor. It was wrapped around an out of focus picture of the six of them plus Yukari on one end and Ms. Kurwasowa on the other. They were all smiling –well Sakaki was almost smiling—except for Yukari, who for some reason or other was glaring at Ms. Kurwasowa, who did not appear to notice at all. _Probably didn't con Minamo into picking up the check at lunch_, Tomo thought.

Her frown deepened. The picture had been taken near the end of the summer they had graduated. Another drunken night at Chiyo's summer house had revealed that Minamo was considering an arranged marriage. _Seriously_ considering it. Tomo reached out for the picture and brought it close, squinting as if that would somehow cause the blurriness to clear. Was it anger in Yukari's stare? Or disappointment?

She thought back to the last time she had seen the two of them; a few months ago at one of Kagura's swim meets. Ms. Kurwasowa had been there to cheer on her former student and Yukari had been there . . . well probably in hopes of being offered free booze by a university student. The talk of arranged marriages was gone and in its place it had been revealed that Minamo _was_ seeing someone. A nice woman who was a fitness trainer. And as Minamo had blushingly offered up the information, after her own incessant pestering (Yomi's exact wording), Tomo suddenly recalled that Yukari had gone strangely quiet. Nearly sedate. And when the two teachers had been leaving, Yukari had given her a bonk on the head and had said, in an almost sage voice that she had never heard the teacher use before, "Don't wait too long."

Funny that she would remember that just now.

Maybe it _was_ time for a change. She caught sight of her Criminal Justice text book, the one class that semester that she was doing better than lousy in. Her desire to work for Interpol in high school had been little more than a lark, a shot-in-the-dark direction when she had had no direction at all. To her surprise, having taken a few classes now geared in that direction, she found that she rather enjoyed it. Even more surprising was the fact that she seemed to be good at it.

Plus there was the added benefit of being able to say "the criminal element" every now and again, a phrase that Yomi was forever rolling her eyes at. Then again, there wasn't much that Tomo said that Yomi _didn't_ roll her eyes at.

Tomo frowned. Her adviser had warned her that if she seriously wanted to go into police work, she'd have to transfer schools. The thought of leaving Yomi had been too uncomfortable and so Tomo had crossed the idea off her list. But now . . .

Sitting up straight, Tomo closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like not seeing Yomi everyday. Not having dinner together. Not walking across campus together. Not roping Yomi into going to seeing the latest horror movie, or going to a new bar, or seeing her at all.

The constant tightness that bubbled around her heart flared up and she absently rubbed a hand over her chest. Pressing her lips together, she thought about being somewhere new. About doing something she liked, something she thought she could be good at. Of being something other than useless.

Her eyes popped open and she reached for her alarm clock. Her adviser had early office hours.


	8. Don't Say You're Sorry

When Kagura turned and saw Sakaki standing in her long coat half a block or so away she felt her stomach clench and the thought _no, no, can't I have a day or two before this_ ran through her mind. Then she sighed and felt her shoulders slump. Really she should have known better. Probably more than anything, Sakaki _hated_ distress and there was no way she would be able to go a few hours let alone a few days with this sort of . . . cloud hanging over them. Squaring her shoulders as she took the first step toward her friend, Kagura's mind optimistically pointed out that at least it looked like Sakaki _wanted_ to mend things. Maybe they could still be friends.

Bolstered by that, she ran a hand through her hair and tried for an apologizing smile. "Hey, look, I'm really sorry. I don't know what . . . I mean, we can just forget—"

That was as far as she got before her lips were engaged in another activity.

It took her several long moments to realize that she currently had her arms full of Sakaki, who in turn had her own arms locked around the athlete. Quiet, reserved, _stoic_ Sakaki had apparently launched herself forward in a flurry of movement she typically only reserved for tracking cute things.

The entire thing was so out of character and shocking that when they finally parted for breath, Kagura stared blankly up at her friend, mouth agape. She attempted speech, there had to be _something_ she was supposed to say, but all she could manage was a distracted, "huh?"

Whatever burst of confidence that had sparked the uncharacteristic display from Sakaki had apparently fizzled for the taller woman blushed deeply, her gaze falling to the sidewalk as if it were the single most interesting thing in the world. She said something in her soft voice that Kagura failed to hear.

Still shocked, Kagura leaned forward, unconsciously reaching out one hand and placing it on her friend's arm. "What's that?" she asked, a bit louder than she had intended.

Sakaki's gaze traveled from the sidewalk to Kagura's hand before lifting to meet her eyes. "I don't want you to be sorry," she said simply.

Kagura blinked. Did she mean—was she saying . . .? "You don't?" she repeated stupidly. The possibility hadn't even _occurred_ to her.

Sakaki shook her head. "No."

Something clicked inside of Kagura and the dark, brooding thoughts that had been crowding her mind vanished in a flash. A massive grin stretched across her face as the message sank in. "Okay. Then I won't be." Her grin faltered for a moment as uncertainty reared up. After all, just because Sakaki wasn't angry with her didn't mean that she wanted to . . . that she liked her . . . in that way. Taking a deep breath, she gathered up as much of her courage as she could find.

"So does this mean that you . . . that you want to—" she left off, gnawing at the bottom of her lip, unable to push the rest of the words out.

The shy, hesitant, _familiar_ smile that came to Sakaki's face had Kagura's heart practically bursting from her chest. She shifted, intending to throw her arms around the taller woman for a massive hug, and then paused, not sure if Sakaki would be comfortable with that. Then she considered the previous five minutes, thought _what the hell_ and glomped her friend as tightly as she could. After a second, she felt Sakaki's chin rest atop her head as she returned the hug and the warmth that spread through her beat back the evening chill.

"So, what now?" she asked, her face still pressed into Sakaki's shoulder. It felt strong beneath her cheek and Kagura recalled all the times she had admired them during swim class.

There came a light shrug. "I guess we can't just stay here like this," she continued wistfully.

Another shrug. "Probably not."

Pulling back slightly, she raised her eyes to meet Sakaki's. They both blushed slightly at the nearness. "Well," Kagura began, chewing on her lip again. "My apartment isn't too far from here. We could go uh . . . hang out there," she finished, wincing when she thought of how that might sound. As if she was insinuating they should . . . Her blush deepened. Not that she would _mind_ but . . . that is, it was kind of soon . . . and . . . _please shut up brain._

But Sakaki did not appear to notice. She tipped her head slightly. "I could help you study," she offered sincerely after a moment of consideration.

Kagura frowned. That didn't sound like a good use of their time at all. Laughing softly, Sakaki reached up and brushed the end of her nose lightly with her finger.

"Or not," she added fondly.

Smiling again, Kagura pulled out of the embrace, suddenly bustling with nervous energy. She felt like she could do a 10k right then and there. "Come on, we can race there!"

Sakaki took a firm grip on her arm, sliding it underneath her own. Their fingers linked.

"I think we've run enough tonight."


	9. Don't Say You're Sorry II

"Tomo?"

Even as she called out, the door to the apartment only half open, Yomi knew her friend wouldn't be there to respond. If the self-proclaimed wildcat _had _been home, then the door most certainly would have been unlocked. It might not even have been shut all the way; Yomi had come home to that a few times, with Tomo inside complaining about how cold it was.

What was more concerting was the fact that since the door was still locked, that meant there was an excellent chance that Tomo hadn't even been home since Yomi had left that morning because god knows her friend rarely bothered to lock the door behind her. At this point, Yomi wasn't even sure Tomo still _had_ keys to the apartment.

She pushed into the hallway, closing the door behind her and hanging her coat on the stand beside it. Digging her phone out of her pocket, she looked at the screen. No calls. She was beginning to worry.

Scratch that, she had begun to worry that morning when she had pushed open Tomo's bedroom door at eight to see her friend's bed empty. That was odd on its own, but coupled with the events of the past day and night, an uncomfortable tightness had settled into Yomi's chest. It was enough to have her skipping her early class in order to race around campus in search of her friend. But all of Tomo's known haunts had turned up empty, as had all of the places Yomi was all but certain Tomo would never venture; like the library and the bookstore.

Yomi had tried to convince herself that it was just Tomo avoiding the inevitable awkwardness of . . . addressing the situation . . . the . . .

She removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose, the headache that had been crowding her brain all day flaring. No doubt it was largely due to the severity in which she had been mentally kicking herself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ What in the world had she been thinking? Pushing herself on Tomo like that, making her best friend so uncomfortable that she felt the need to wander around all day on a broken leg rather than come home?

She ignored the tiny voice that pointed out that she hadn't really _pushed_ herself on Tomo, that Tomo _had _responded, and maybe, just maybe there was more to the entire thing than Yomi was currently willing to consider.

Sighing, Yomi turned towards the kitchen, figuring she would make herself some tea before heading back out. Maybe she'd go into the city and see if Tomo had needed more space than the campus was able to offer. Of course, Yomi had absolutely no idea what she was going to say even if she _did_ find her. An apology was probably the best place to start. Maybe some pleas for forgiveness. She gave a short snort. Wasn't that funny. Her, apologizing to Tomo. Suppose it had to happen sometime.

As she was pulling down a mug from the cupboard, she heard the click on the front door opening and her heart clutched in her chest. She ducked out of the kitchen just in time to see Tomo push the door shut with the end of a crutch.

Their eyes met; Yomi wasn't sure how to read her roommate's flat gaze.

"Hi," she offered weakly.

After a moment of hesitation, Tomo echoed, "Hi," and swung herself further into the apartment. Yomi frowned slightly as she watched.

"Where did you get those?" she demanded, wincing when she heard the harshness in her tone. It was just that the worry she had been feeling from before hadn't dissipated with Tomo's arrival; instead it had latched onto the uncomfortableness from before and the two were currently twisting painfully in her stomach.

Tomo shrugged. "Someone from the hospital brought them over this morning. I guess we forgot them yesterday."

Yomi nodded, her fingers twisting together. "Where have you been?"

Tomo gave her an odd look. "I was at class."

"I thought you were going to skip them."

Swinging towards her room, Tomo shrugged again. "I forgot I had a test."

"Wait! Don't you think we should—?"

"Don't."

Yomi blinked at the word, so uncharacteristically snapped out. "Don't what?"

"Don't bother. I'm not completely stupid, you know."

"What are you—?"

"I'm not so dumb that I think you're in love with me or anything so let's just forget it, okay?"

One part of Yomi screamed _yes, yes let's just forget all about it! We can just go back . . . back to normal._ Or as normal as things could get in regards to Tomo. But a much larger part was adamant that this was something that couldn't just be swept aside or tucked under the rug. It had happened and they were going to have to deal with it. Like adults. Tomo wasn't going to weasel her way out of it. The more she thought about it, the more Yomi's temper began to rise. She knew that this whole mess was her fault. She was willing to admit that. And she was going to damn well apologize for it.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm trying to say that I'm sorry!"

"I don't want you to say you're sorry!" Tomo roared back, stalking over and waving her crutches wildly in the air. "I don't want you to say you wish it hadn't happened or that you'd take it back if you could or that you didn't mean it! Just forget it ever happened and go back to your precious obliviousness!"

Yomi's jaw dropped open at the tirade. Then it snapped shut with an audible click. Obliviousness? Where the hell had that come from? Tomo was making it sound like . . . like . . . She stared at her friend when it suddenly occurred to her.

"Are you in love with me Tomo?"

Tomo's face darkened and her shoulders hunched. "No."

Yomi felt a smile tug at her lips. Suddenly it all made sense. "You are, aren't you?" She was surprised at the amount of happiness the realization gave her. The uncomfortable, tight sensation in her chest evaporated. Finally she understood how she had put up with over a decade of Tomo's antics, her teasing, her practical jokes and occasionally destructive behavior. It was so simple she had to have been an idiot to miss it. _Tomo's influence, obviously_, she thought giddily.

Her friend's shoulders scrunched further. "Fine, whatever. It doesn't matter anyway," she muttered, starting towards her room again. Smiling broadly, Yomi reached out and placed a restraining hand on her arm.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Tomo, I—"

"I'm transferring at the end of the semester so you'll only have to put up with it for a couple more months."

Yomi felt her stomach drop out. All of the pleasant feelings that had been running through her dried up instantly. "What?" Almost immediately after the single word fell from her lips, her temper spiked again. "You moron!" she fumed.

It was Tomo's turn to look surprised. "Yomi-?" But Yomi cut her off.

This was _not_ how this was going to happen, dammit!

"Did it ever occur to you to tell me? Did that concept ever even work its way through your tiny, microscopic brain?" When Tomo just continued to stare stupidly, Yomi's anger only increased. "I bet it didn't. I bet you just decided to wander around however long it's been, keeping everything tucked inside, hoping one day I'd just turn around and go, 'gee Tomo, I think I'm in love with you!' That's it, isn't it? Isn't it?"

Tomo blinked. "Uh. Well yeah, I guess."

"Well gee Tomo. I think I'm in love you." And with that, Yomi spun on her heel and stalked back into the kitchen to finish making her tea.

Tomo blinked again. "What just happened here?" she asked the empty air.

"You're an idiot," came Yomi's response.

Confused, Tomo shifted on her crutches and swung her way into the kitchen where she found herself staring at Yomi's back as the taller woman calmly poured hot water into a mug, without any sign of the explosive temper from moments before. Tomo opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again.

"Did you just say you're in love with me?"

Yomi was silent for a moment as she stirred her tea. Then, lifting the mug off the counter, she turned, her face a mask of cool disdain.

"No. I said I think I'm in love with you."

Tomo hunched forward. "What, not smart enough to figure it out?"

Looking over the top of her glasses, Yomi took a sip of her tea. "Are you really transferring?" she asked, ignoring the dig.

Smiling sheepishly, Tomo nodded. "Yup."

Swallowing, Yomi felt a sharp pang in her heart but tried to ignore it. "Well, then I guess it doesn't really matter what I think, does it?"

To her surprise, Tomo's smile only grew. But instead of answering, she merely shrugged again. Yomi narrowed her eyes at the decidedly pleased expression on her friend's face.

"Tomo?"

"Yup?"

"Where are you transferring to?"

"The police academy."

Yomi took another sip of her tea because it seemed like a better idea than pouring the hot liquid over the wildcat's head.

"You mean the one just outside of town?"

Tomo bobbed her head. "Yup. That's the one."

Yomi's fingers clenched around the handle of the tea mug. Then she sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, Tomo . . ." she trailed off in exasperation.

The goofy grin fell away from Tomo's face and she dropped her gaze to the floor as she inched forward.

"So Yomi," she began her tone more serious than Yomi had ever heard, "since you've just admitted that you're in love with me . . . "

Rolling her eyes, Yomi turned to set her mug back on the counter. When she turned back, she found that Tomo had closed the distance between them and had one crutch on either side of her, effectively caging her in. Her instinct was to take a step backward but since she knew the counter was there, she held her ground, instead replying in a bored voice,

"You admitted you were in love with me first."

Tomo lifted her head and Yomi couldn't help but flush at the knowing look in her friend's eyes and the sudden closeness. Especially when Tomo leaned further forward.

"I'm not denying it." The words whispered over Yomi's lips, sending tiny pricks of pleasure rippling along her skin. "I just want to know . . . if that means I can kiss you," she finished sweetly.

Yomi felt her breath back up in her lungs and gave a jerk of one shoulder. "Can you do it without hurting yourself?" she replied shakily, trying to maintain her cool composure.

Tomo appeared to consider it. Setting one of her crutches against the counter, she reached up and ran the back of her hand lightly down the side of Yomi's face. "Well, if I can't, I always have you to take care of me, right?" she reasoned.

Giving a breathless little laugh, Yomi caught Tomo's hand before it could continue its gentle journey down her neck. "Would you hurry up and kiss me already?" she retorted, unable to keep the frustration out of her voice.

For the first time in her life, Tomo did as she was told.


End file.
